Reserve Your Corner of the World

Hotel Reservation Card
1975

Here is a card used to 'reserve your corner of the world' in 1975.  The cover has a nice clean globe head logo with the Walt Disney Productions copyright and features a simple map.

The resort hotels included: Contemporary, Polynesian Village, and Golf Resort Hotel.  Fort Wilderness Campground Resort and the Lake Buena Vista Vacation Villas and Treehouses could also be reserved.  The Lake Buena Vista Hotel Plaza, which included the Dutch Inn, Howard Johnson's, Royal Plaza and TraveLodge were listed as back ups if the WDW resorts were full.

GAF Guide to Walt Disney World (part 3)

Your Complete Guide to Walt Disney World
Compliments of GAF
pgs 12 -13, 1975

This final section of the GAF guide highlights the special attractions and events available in 1975 including America On Parade, the Bicentennial celebration that "...is becoming the talk of the entire country."

The resorts section includes information on Polynesian Village, Contemporary Resort, Golf Resort, Fort Wilderness & Lake Buena Vista.  It lists all of the shops and restaurants such as the Terrace Buffeteria in the Contemporary.  What a great name!

GAF Guide to Walt Disney World (part 2)

Your Complete Guide to Walt Disney World
Compliments of GAF
pgs 2-3, 1975

The GAF guide from 1975 contains sections for each of the lands in the Magic Kingdom and includes information on 'Attractions', 'Restaurants & Snack Centers', and 'Shops.'

An A,B,C,D or E ticket was needed for each ride.  The attractions sponsored by a company, such as the now extinct "If You Had Wings," were free, presumably because they were commercials.   Note the WEDway PeopleMover (future attraction) below.

GAF Guide to Walt Disney World

Your Complete Guide to Walt Disney World
compliments of GAF
1975

General Aniline & Film (GAF) was an early sponsor of Walt Disney World.  They produced these guides for several years in the mid-70's.  This edition in my collection is from 1975.  Most of them use the stacked globe-head logo.

The brochure has a 3 panel map in the middle that shows the GAF Photo Trail and picture spots that '...have been carefully researched and selected as the best locations for taking memorable pictures.' -precursor to the Kodak Photo Spot.

Part of the 30 pages was dedicated to photo tips. My favorite: 'An Important Word About Flashbulbs: Don't try to illuminate large subjects or anything further than 12 feet away....A flash picture of the Cinderella Castle would require more than 100,000 flashbulbs!'

Sucrology of Walt Disney World

Dixie Crystals Sugar Packet

Apparently, people collect lots of interesting thing.  (Who am I to judge, right?)  But in looking for information about these items, I learned of Sucrology, "the hobby of collecting sugar sachets and/or packets."  Thank you, Wikipedia.


Here is a set of Dixie Crystals sugar packets, "The Official Sugar in Walt Disney World."  The set contains seven different packets.  Each packet has a photo from WDW on one side and the globe head logo on both.  I'm not sure when these packets were made but the images do contain the Walt Disney Productions copyright which I don't seem to find on the earlier 70's items.

The packets feature some great shots of The Magic Kingdom: The Hall of Presidents, Cinderella Castle, Rivers of America and Main Street USA, as well as The Contemporary Resort.  You can see another set of these on Flickr, posted by Sucrologist, Sugar Packet Chad.

From My Childhood

Walt Disney's Donald Duck
Coloring Book Page
1972

So my love for Donald and the early Walt Disney World logo may come directly from these pages.  The book itself, "Walt Disney's Donald Duck: Donald Duck's Camper USA," is long gone,  but I did save these few pages that reference WDW.  The book was published in 1972 but from my handwriting and expert coloring, I must have colored it in the mid to late '70s. 

Riding Thru the Contemporary Resort

Riding Thru the Contemporary Resort
pre-opening postcard
(FL-025)

This pre-opening postcard shows an artist rendering of the Contemporary Resort and the monorail leaving it on the "Highway in the Sky."  

This version has the standard globe head logo.  There are other versions of this card that contain the Florida Flag logo.  

There are also editions of this postcard that refer to the Tempo Bay Resort, the once potential name for the Contemporary.  

You can read more about this pre-opening card on Big Brian's blog.

1971 Walt Disney World Whitman Game

A Visit to Walt Disney World
Whitman Punch-Out and Play Game
1971

This Whitman game came out the year Walt Disney World opened.  It uses the early logo that featured the Florida flag so that people would not confuse WDW with its older sister park in California.

The punch-out and play game came with a 30'x30' play mat map of the Magic Kingdom & 6 crayons.  The original owners only colored the two Main Street, USA buildings.  

Six characters and two children cut outs are still with my edition of the game along with the Swiss Family Tree House and parts of Cinderella Castle.  Based on the box cover, there may have been a cut out train and steam boat as well.

Most of the lands are represented by a 'weenie' punch-out or attraction to color: Grand Prix Raceway, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Hall of Presidents, and the Sunshine Pavilion.